I’ve come to realize that there are certain foods that taste better when eaten immediately where and when you buy them.
While cold pizza is a thing and we all know that adobo is way better the day or even several days after, some items don’t do as well.
Take, for example, the siopao at Ma Mon Luk, the decades-old Chinese tea house on Quezon Blvd near the Sto. Domingo church.
My friend and I have been going there for our pre-New Year’s Eve lunch for years and we always order the same items: siopao, mami and an order of siomai. When we’re eating on the Formica-top tables amid the clatter of plates and glasses, everything tastes delicious.
We squirt some of the siopao sauce into our individual bowls of hot noodle soup that come topped with chunks of beef. In between bites of siopao and slurps of soup, we catch up on each other’s lives.
One time though, I decided to order a siopao for takeaway but when I got home later that day and took it out of the paper bag, it didn’t look or smell appetizing. Even warmed up, it was still a letdown.
The same goes with other items, two of which can be found here in Ilocos Norte where my family and I are currently spending the holidays.
The empanada in Batac is so famous the city constructed a covered area near the church that perks up in the afternoon when locals and tourists alike descend for meryenda or early dinner.
Aside from the bright-orange turnovers filled with steamed bean sprouts, a whole egg and chopped longganisa, the different stalls sell grilled longganisa, dried squid, and miki, a thick and heavy noodle soup that can be ordered split into two bowls.
People, however, really come for the empanada that is fried crisp before being propped up on a stand to drain off some of the oil. Each is then inserted into a paper pouch with one pointy end of the empanada sticking out. You break that off and pour some chili-spiked sukang Iloko for that perfect bite.
Trying to replicate that hours later at home just doesn’t cut it — the veggies are cold, the egg a congealed mess. There are stores in Manila that sell Ilocano-style empanada but I can’t vouch for them as I’m partial to the ones sold in Batac.
If you’re ever in Ilocos Norte, head to the empanadahan in Batac and look for the printed menus. When you spot it, don’t scoff at the “seedless” variant. It’s just an empanada without any bean sprouts for the non-veggie eaters, and contains only a fried egg and crumbled longganisa.
The second item that I only discovered on this trip is a cheese roll by a local entrepreneur. Wonder Coffee (0917722885) was initially a small outfit in 2017 that sold “healthier” coffee options. A couple of years ago during the pandemic, they began selling these cheese rolls topped with powdered milk.
When I say topped, what I actually mean is a flurry, a blizzard of powdered milk. They even add a small pouch of powdered milk to sprinkle over those rolls that didn’t get as much love. The sweetness of the milk is cut by the saltiness of the cheese and while it can be messy to eat, I think that’s really part of its charm.
Again, they’re best enjoyed as soon as possible, as the milk powder tends to clump after a few hours. Sold in boxes of 12, they’re easy to share with family and friends — so everyone can make it snow together.
Source: Best enjoyed ASAP
